The Awareness Center closed. We operated from April 30, 1999 - April 30, 2014. This site is being provided for educational & historical purposes.
We were the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault (JCASA); and were dedicated to ending sexual violence in Jewish communities globally. We did our best to operate as the make a wish foundation for Jewish survivors of sex crimes. In the past we offered a clearinghouse of information, resources, support and advocacy.

Toronto police became involved in the investigation after Israeli authorities charged Shimon Bentov in Israel late last year, alleging he committed sexual assaults on children and child-pornography offenses.

Israeli police investigators found more than 100 videotapes, dozens of CDs and hundreds of pictures in which the suspect is photographed while sexually abusing and raping children. It is believed that Bentov had been sexually assaulting children in Ashdod from 1997-2000.

According to police, Ben Tov, who worked in Ashdod and Givat Ze'ev, tended to befriend students aged 11-15, invite them to his house to watch pornographic movies and then sexually abuse them.

Bentov was a former school security guard in Kiryat Arba, Israel was as part of the international network transporting boys for sex with men now being investigated.

If you have a photograph of Shimon Bentov, please forward it to The Awareness Center.

Shimon Ben Tov, 51, from the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of sexually abusing dozens of children over the course of the past five years.Police investigators believe it to be one of the biggest and most shocking pedophilia cases in Israel in recent years. The Jerusalem Magistrates Court on Wednesday extended Ben Tov's remand by eight days.Ben Tov, who worked as a security guard at various school across the country, was arrested after the mother of an 11-year-old from the Givat Ze'ev neighborhood of Jerusalem filed a police complaint, saying Ben Tov had sexually abused her son. In a police raid on Ben Tov's Kiryat Arba home, police investigators found more than 100 videotapes, dozens of CDs and hundreds of pictures in which the suspect is photographed while sexually abusing and raping children.According to police, Ben Tov, who worked in Ashdod and Givat Ze'ev, tended to befriend students aged 11-15, invite them to his house to watch pornographic movies and then sexually abuse them.In the coming days, police plan to locate children who appear in the photographs found in Ben Tov's home, in an effort to gain additional testimonials to be used against the suspect.

A guard from Kiryat Arba near Hebron has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out indecent acts on children in different parts of the country. The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court yesterday remanded him in custody for eight days.

Shimon Ben-Tov, aged 51, is also suspected of recording the acts on video and computer and of taking still pictures of himself with the victims. Police called it is one of the most shocking incidents of pedophilia they have uncovered.

Ben-Tov was arrested two days ago after a resident of Givat Ze'ev filed a complaint. She said she had met Ben-Tov at the home of acquaintances and he had enticed her 11-year-old son to come to his house, where he subjected the boy to indecent acts.

Police who searched Ben-Tov's home in Kiryat Arba were amazed to find an enormous collection of pedophilia - 106 video tapes, a computer and dozens of CD-roms showing sexual acts with children, and numerous photos and negatives. In all of these, the guard is photographed with dozens of children aged 11-15 on whom he is performing indecent acts or whom he is sodomizing.

"We have only managed to view a small part of the dozens of videos, partly because there are so many and partly because they are so difficult to view," the head of the youth division of the police in the Judea and Samaria region, Assaf Zioni, said.

"For years, the police have not seen such an extensive collection of pedophilia, and the suspect appears in the pictures and on the video tapes." The suspect has admitted to a small number of incidents attributed to him.

In the past few years, Ben-Tov worked as a guard in various schools in Ashdod and Givat Ze'ev. He met young boys and invited them to his home, ostensibly to view pornographic films. Police say that, judging by the pictures, dozens of children fell victim to the guard, who photographed them himself and with theaid of a third party who has not yet been arrested.

Ben-Tov admitted trying to sell the pictures to Russian Internet sites, including the pedophile site, "boy-lovers." So far, police have gathered evidence only from the 11-year-old who led to Ben-Tov's arrest.

They now plan to take close-ups of other children from the pictures confiscated in Ben-Tov's home and to try to identify the victims. To this end, they will also go to the schools where he worked in the hope of finding victims who are prepared to give evidence.

Meanwhile, a Tel Aviv magistrate yesterday extended the remand of another suspected pedophile, 43-year-old Avraham Papo of Bnei Braq, by six days. He is accused of committing acts of sodomy against at least six children, aged 10-14.

Papo has reportedly confessed and told police about two additional victims. None of them had complained to police. The case came to light when a 12-year-old boy complained that his neighbor had several times raped him and caused him injury.

Police suspected that Papo may have been guilty of further indecent acts but when they went to arrest him, he had disappeared. He was found by police on Tuesday evening, walking on the promenade in Tel Aviv, and after his arrest, reportedly admitted his guilt._________________________________________________________________________________

The investigation of a Kiryat Arba man suspected of sexually assaulting children in Ashdod from 1997-2000 has revealed new information.

Police are now investigating a suspicion that in some cases Shimon Ben-Tov, 51, who was a school security guard in Ashdod, committed some offenses outside the schools where he was employed. A 16-year-old boy who allegedly was assaulted by Ben-Tov about two-and-a-half years ago testified to police yesterday for several hours. He told Samaria and Judea police investigators that Ben-Tov had assaulted him after meeting him on the street.

"The boy's testimony is a step forward in the investigation, but there is a great deal more to do and many more points that are still unclear," Chief Inspector Assaf Tzanani, commander of the Samaria and Judea Police Youth Division, said. The police noted that the boy had not come forward to file a complaint at the time of the attack. Police did not reveal any details about how they came across the boy.

Lachish region police are also looking into unsolved complaints of sexual assault in Ashdod, and will transfer these files to the Samaria and Judea Police. Ben-Tov moved from Ashdod, where he lived alone, to Kiryat Arba near Hebron about a year and a half ago. In Ashdod he worked in 10 different schools while he was employed by several different security companies.

"The material we have is shocking, and includes video tapes," Chief Inspector Tzanani said. "This is apparently a case of pedophilia the likes of which we haven't seen before."

Police, who suspect Ben-Tov of involvement in 30 to 40 cases of sexual assault involving children in Ashdod from 1997-2000, said yesterday that Ben-Tov had admitted so far to eight instances of sexual assault, mostly in Ashdod.

The suspect expressed remorse for his actions, but Tzanani said, "when you look at the video tapes and examine the proof we have against him, it just doesn't jive with his expressions of remorse."

Ashdod city officials expressed surprise at the suspicions against Ben-Tov. "We do not recall receiving any reports of a school security guard who sexually assaulted children. If there had been such a case, he would have been fired immediately," the Ashdod municipal education department said.

Police arrested a woman in Tel Aviv yesterday on suspicion of being an accomplice to Shimon Ben Tov, 51, of Kiryat Arba, who was arrested last week on suspicion of sexually abusing dozens of children while employed as a school guard in Ashdod between 1997-2000.

The 27-year-old woman, a Russian resident here illegally, was picked up after police viewed photographs taken from Ben Tov, which documents him abusing the children and shows the woman as an accomplice in some cases.

Ben Tov will be brought before Jerusalem Magistrate's Court this morning for a remand hearing.

Investigators suspect he used the woman as bait to lure children to his home, then abused them in her presence. In several cases the children were brought into sexual contact with her, and in at least one case, a teenage boy had intercourse with her. Police said the woman has admitted some of the allegations.

Police know Ben Tov tried distributing some of the photographic material to Russian pedophile Web sites, including photographs showing him having sex with children with the woman present, but it's still unclear whether he succeeded.

The woman will be handed over to the Immigration Police for deportation, but she is expected to testify beforehand in an expedited procedure.

In October of 2004, Interpol - Jerusalem notified the Toronto Police Service Fugitive Squad that they held a warrant for the arrest of a man now believed to be living in Toronto. The man, identified as Vitaly Levshin, a 46-year-old Israeli Citizen of Ukrainian descent, was wanted in Israel for numerous serious sexual assaults on children, as well as making and distributing child pornography on the Internet dating back to 2000.

It was determined that Levshin came to Canada in 2000 and had been granted Landed Immigrant status (in other words: permanent residency) in Canada. All of the officers’ efforts for extradition proceedings, to be initiated by the Israeli authorities, were rejected and denied.

Levshin was tracked down to a North Toronto address, and because of the potential danger to Toronto children, the Child Exploitation Section of the Sex Crimes Unit and 32 Division started a criminal investigation.

Since the authorities in Israel were reluctant to extradite Levshin, the matter was referred to an officer of the Canada Border Services Agency assigned to the TPS Fugitive Squad.

On Monday, November 29, 2004, the CBSA officer attached to the Fugitive team advised that he had obtained an Immigration arrest warrant for Levshin.

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, November 30, 2004, Levshin was arrested without incident and a Criminal Code search warrant was executed at his residence in the Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue West area of Toronto. The accused had approximately 3,000 pictures in his possession. About 2,000 of these pictures appear to have been taken by the accused or associates of his from around the world. The pictures involve approximately 25 young boys either posing in various stages of undress, or involved in sex acts with other boys or men, thus constituting child pornography. Several of the victims are believed to be living in Canada, Israel, Ukraine and Russia, but remain unidentified.

Chat logs, emails and documents recovered from the accused’s computer reveal that he was exchanging child pornography with men all over the world. The accused and these men had discussions about having sex with children in Canada and elsewhere in the world, and discussed how to bring children into Canada from other parts of the world.

Child pornography pictures of one victim, known only as Pasha, show this child being sexually abused beginning at the age of about 7, and continuing until he was about 16. Some of these pictures were taken in Toronto by the accused when Pasha was in Toronto during the summer months of 2001 and 2002. Investigators also have pictures of other unknown boys, obviously taken in Toronto. (Local landmarks in backgrounds).

Criminal Code charges have now been laid against Levshin in relation to a 10-year-old Toronto victim he knew. Five different assaults took place in 2003 and 2004 in Toronto and Ukraine.

He is originally from Ukraine and is believed to have also lived in or travelled to Russia, Moldova, Israel and the United States.

Levshin was active in the Russian and Ukrainian communities in Toronto. He was employed as a pianist and played various venues in the Toronto area. He placed advertisements in Russian-language newspapers seeking to employ young boys to assist with his piano performances.

He has been detained in custody and his next court appearance is a video remand on Thursday, January 27, 2005, 301 Court, North York.

This investigation was a culmination of good police work, excellent teamwork and communication between the TPS Fugitive Squad, the CBSA, the TPS Sex Crimes Unit, Child Exploitation Section and 32 Division YB.

There is no doubt that without this team effort, and the tenacious pursuit of this fugitive, Vitaly Levshin would have continued to perpetrate his horrific crimes on children, not only in Toronto, but around the world through the distribution of child pornography.

Anyone with information regarding Levshin and his activities is asked to contact Detective Constable John Menard of the Child Exploitation Section at 416-808-7985.

A North York man faces charges and will make a court appearance tomorrow following an international child exploitation investigation, police announced yesterday.

"This is a very large investigation that has taken place around the world and it is absolutely ongoing," said Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie of the sex crimes unit. "We would like to try to determine if in fact there are other victims."

According to police, Interpol notified the Toronto Police Service's fugitive squad in October that they had an arrest warrant for a man believed to be living in Toronto. The man, an Israeli citizen of Ukrainian descent, was wanted in Israel for numerous alleged sexual assaults on children as well as for allegedly making and distributing child pornography.

Police determined the man came to Canada in 2000 and had been granted landed immigrant status.

Det. Jim Muscat said every effort was made "to encourage the authorities to commence extradition proceedings," but it did not happen.

The child exploitation section of the sex crimes unit and North York's 32 Division conducted a criminal investigation.

On Nov. 30, a suspect was arrested without incident and a search warrant was executed at a home in the Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue area.

Police alleged the suspect had about 3,000 pictures in his possession, including about 2,000 that appear to have been taken by him or his associates. Some pictures allegedly involve about 25 boys either posing in various stages of undress or involved in sex acts with other boys or men.

Several victims have not been identified, but are believed to be living in Canada, Israel, Ukraine and Russia.

Police alleged chat logs, e-mails and documents recovered from a suspect's computer reveal he was exchanging child pornography with men around the world.

A suspect and men allegedly had discussions about having sex with children and discussed how to bring children into Canada.

Gillespie said a thorough examination was done of a computer, but there are still several password-protected files that have not been cracked.

"We're still working on it."

Police said pictures of one victim, known only as Pasha, allegedly show him being sexually abused from age seven to 16.

"Some of these pictures were in fact taken in Toronto as we can tell by standard Toronto landmarks in the background such as the CN Tower," Gillespie told reporters during a news conference at police headquarters yesterday. "It appears to us that this boy was in Toronto as late as 2002. We don't know who he is and we now believe he is living in Russia."

Gillespie said there appears to be a "network" that does not have much difficulty in getting children into Canada. "Our belief is that boys are brought to Canada for the purpose of having sex with men," he said. "This network is managing to facilitate that transportation, get them the appropriate paperwork and get them into Canada."

Police said charges have been laid against a suspect in relation to a 10-year-old he knew.

Police said the accused was employed as a pianist and was active in Toronto's Russian and Ukrainian communities. He placed advertisements in Russian-language newspapers seeking to employ boys to assist with his piano performances.

Vitaly Levshin, 46, has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, making child pornography and possession of child pornography.

The story behind the alleged porn ring that stretches from Canada to Israel and from Russia to the Ukraine is a tangled web of computers, furtive discussions and bizarre bureaucratic mysteries.

Police both here and in other countries are still trying to sort it all out. But here’s what we know so far.

The case seems to have broken in Israel, with an arrest of a man named Shimon Bentov. He’s charged with similar offenses to the ones local cops have laid against Toronto newcomer Vitaly Levshin, who they say was an associate of their accused.

When authorities there discovered the extent of Bentov's alleged involvement in child porn, they tried to locate Levshin, only to find he’d already received his papers to stay in Canada.

As the long list of those involved unraveled, new names kept popping up, provided by the emails on the suspects’ computers.

Someone named “Anton” is thought to be living in Calgary and may have committed what cops call “a hand’s on” crime with the boys. But they have no idea if that’s his real name or who he is.

In Russia, three men known only as “Mobius”, “Igor” and “Sergei” are being sought. At least one of them runs a child porn site, but all are believed involved in the distribution of the pictures that appear on the site.

They’re all linked to at least 22 boys, only a few of who police have able to identify. One of them, Pascha, literally grew up in the lewd photos, and cops know he spent a few summers here, and allege he was abused by Levshin.

The others they’ve been able to I.D. are called “Pavel”, another alleged Toronto victim, and Sascha, said to be Pascha’s brother. All are believed to now be living in Moscow and Russian authorities are trying to identify them.

A fourth, "John Doe" is the 10-year-old Toronto boy that police have charged Levshin with abusing.

Police may not know who they all are, but think they’ve been transported all over the world, with one purpose.

“Our belief is that boys are bring bought to Canada for the purpose of having sex with men,” concludes Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie.

But he's not sure exactly how they've been brought into each country - including this one - without anyone detecting what was going on. Gillespie claims the boys apparently reached their destinations with all the proper paperwork, a situation he calls "disturbing".

And he adds one more disgusting detail - boys in Russia are available for only $10, whereas procuring them in Canada costs a lot more.

The massive investigation into unveiling the identities of the victims and the alleged perpetrators continues across the planet.

Police are seeking help in an international child-exploitation investigation that led to charges against an Israeli citizen alleged to have sexually assaulted a 10-year-old Toronto boy.

Investigators believe the man, who has lived in Toronto since 2000, made child pornography using at least two dozen boys.

"We are trying to determine if there are other victims. We believe there are," Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie of the sex crimes unit told a news conference at police headquarters yesterday.

So far the charges against the man relate to one alleged victim.

Following the man's arrest on Nov. 30, police seized a computer and other paraphernalia from his home, Gillespie said.

"Three-thousand pictures were recovered ... many involving young boys in various sex acts," he said.

The material includes graphic sexual photographs of children between the ages of seven and 15, he said.

"We believe some live in Canada," Gillespie said, adding the man has been active in the Russian and Ukrainian communities in Toronto.

Police allege the man was exchanging child pornography worldwide. Gillespie said he believes some victims are from Russia and at least one has visited Toronto.

"Chat logs, e-mails and documents recovered from the accused's computer reveal that he was exchanging child pornography with men all over the world," said Det. Jim Muscat. "The accused and these men had discussions about having sex with children in Canada and elsewhere in the world and discussed how to bring children to Canada from other parts of the world."

Toronto police became involved in the investigation after Israeli authorities charged Shimon Bentov in Israel late last year, alleging he committed sexual assaults on children and child-pornography offences. Authorities in Israel were also seeking the man arrested in Toronto in relation to the same charges.

Toronto police acted on the information immediately, and the man was arrested at his home near Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue West on an immigration warrant.

He is now charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, making child pornography and possession of child pornography in relation to the 10-year-old boy.

Police allege the man was also involved in assaults on two boys, possibly brothers, who may live in Moscow.

"Child pornography pictures of one victim, known only as Pasha, show this child being sexually abused beginning at the age of about 7 and continuing until he was about 16," Muscat said.

"Some of these pictures were taken in Toronto ... during the summer months of 2001 and 2002. Investigators also have pictures of other unknown boys obviously taken in Toronto."

During his time in Toronto, the man has worked as a pianist and played several venues.

"He placed advertisements in Russian-language newspapers seeking to employ young boys to assist with his piano performances," Muscat said.

He has also been employed at Aelita Musical Enterprises and the Martha Hicks School of Ballet, both in Toronto, and Pizzazz 'n Jazz VP Dance Studio in Bolton.

Charged is Vitaly Levshin, 46. He will appear in court again tomorrow via a video hookup.

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court sentenced 52-year-old Shimon Ben-Tov to 16 years in prison Wednesday, and an additional 1.5 years suspended, for sexually assaulting minors on several occasions between 1998 and 2004.

On two separate occasions, the Jerusalem resident persuaded a 10-year-old and 12-year-old child to come to his home and play computer games, during which he began fondling their genitalia and even persuaded them to perform oral sex on him.

He also was convicted of sodomizing children in several instances while video taping them, and attempting to earn a profit by publishing the videos on the internet.

"The acts of the defendant provide a window for his distorted soul," wrote judges Zvi Segel, Yoram Noam, and Rafi Carmel. "The fact that he was not satisfied with fulfilling his dark urges, and even aspired to make a profit by turning his perversion into hard currency, demonstrates that the defendant lost all sense of morality, and sacrificed himself to evil, in which the souls and bodies of young children served him as legitimate tools for the fulfillment of his needs ? both sexual and financial."

Some of the information on The Awareness Center's web pages may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.

We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish to use copyrighted material from this update for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

A psychology student who committed suicide Monday in the Hebrew University dorms in Jerusalem wrote a letter last week in which she described the despair she felt as a victim of gang rape, because she could not find a suitable framework for treatment. The letter was revealed Tuesday by The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, which was in contact with the woman for a number of years, and requested that she describe her condition, in an effort to influence the municipalities to establish means of treatment for women like herself.

The woman, a 21-year-old former kibbutz resident, had tried to commit suicide twice in the past. After one of the attempts, she was hospitalized in a mental health institute.

In her letter, she describes her experience in the institute. "Someone pulled the hair of another patient. The staff pulled her quickly and said they would tie her up. She is crying, she doesn't want it. They are putting her in the room next to mine, and tying her up. I touch my ankle. It's been a while since no one tied ropes and chains to my body. It's great that I can move my hands. But what I see in the room next to me induces difficult flashbacks to what happened."

"I'm able to reach the doctor and explain the difficulty," she wrote. "The doctor is wonderful but she says she has no clue about these things. Later in the evening the nurses talk to me. They don't understand why I'm here". That the girls here are very ill, and that I was a commander in the army and that I'm a university student."

The woman left the closed ward and approached an open clinic, in a hospital, that treats post-trauma victims. But the participation of men in these groups only worsened the flashbacks that she suffered. After she tried to commit suicide again, she requested to stay at a closed mental health institute, but was rejected on the claim that the framework didn't suit her.

"I'm very suicidal," she wrote. "I'm holding a rope in my hand and want to hang myself in the shower. My feeling now is that there is no place for me in the world. Israeli society isn't willing to deal with post-trauma, with sexual abuse, incest, or gang rape. We must help victims of sexual violence, because we as a society allowed it to happen. I want to grow and be a good citizen and contribute to the state. Above all I want to live and not hurt myself. But I can't alone. I need help."

According to Hilla Kerner Soliman, the director of The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, the woman's letter is a "piercing indictment on society's failure, for not protecting her as a child, and not treating her as an adult."

"We see in it a will that obligates health and social affairs offices to establish wide-scale and specialized frameworks immediately for dealing with victims of sexual abuse," Kerner Soliman said.

Tel Aviv District Court Judge Noga Ohad on Wednesday released a rape suspect to house arrest, saying that he and the victim of the alleged attack were "jointly responsible for what occurred."

Dan Nadger, a cook at the Gan City wedding hall in Rehovot, was released from police remand until his trial after the judge heard some of the evidence that the prosecution will present in a case alleging Nadger raped a coworker at the hall last November.

The judge noted that the woman's allegations were contradictory and not credible and that the suspect - who said he was too drunk to know what happened and was overheard by police wiretaps telephoning calling the woman to apologize - did not behave as one would expect of a rape suspect.

The judge said she did not understand why the woman, who knew her coworker was drunk, got in his car, and why, if she did not want to have sexual relations with the man she did not escape from the car when the suspect parked it behind a gas station, nor ask him to stop.

Some of the information on The Awareness Center's web pages may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.

We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish to use copyrighted material from this update for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

In October of 2004, Interpol - Jerusalem notified the Toronto Police Service Fugitive Squad that they held a warrant for the arrest of a man now believed to be living in Toronto. The man, identified as Vitaly Levshin, a 46-year-old Israeli Citizen of Ukrainian descent, was wanted in Israel for numerous serious sexual assaults on children, as well as making and distributing child pornography on the Internet dating back to 2000.

It was determined that Levshin came to Canada in 2000 and had been granted Landed Immigrant status (in other words: permanent residency) in Canada. All of the officers' efforts for extradition proceedings, to be initiated by the Israeli authorities, were rejected and denied.

Levshin was tracked down to a North Toronto address, and because of the potential danger to Toronto children, the Child Exploitation Section of the Sex Crimes Unit and 32 Division started a criminal investigation.

Since the authorities in Israel were reluctant to extradite Levshin, the matter was referred to an officer of the Canada Border Services Agency assigned to the TPS Fugitive Squad.

On Monday, November 29, 2004, the CBSA officer attached to the Fugitive team advised that he had obtained an Immigration arrest warrant for Levshin.

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, November 30, 2004, Levshin was arrested without incident and a Criminal Code search warrant was executed at his residence in the Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue West area of Toronto. The accused had approximately 3,000 pictures in his possession. About 2,000 of these pictures appear to have been taken by the accused or associates of his from around the world. The pictures involve approximately 25 young boys either posing in various stages of undress, or involved in sex acts with other boys or men, thus constituting child pornography. Several of the victims are believed to be living in Canada, Israel, Ukraine and Russia, but remain unidentified.

Chat logs, emails and documents recovered from the accused's computer reveal that he was exchanging child pornography with men all over the world. The accused and these men had discussions about having sex with children in Canada and elsewhere in the world, and discussed how to bring children into Canada from other parts of the world.

Child pornography pictures of one victim, known only as Pasha, show this child being sexually abused beginning at the age of about 7, and continuing until he was about 16. Some of these pictures were taken in Toronto by the accused when Pasha was in Toronto during the summer months of 2001 and 2002. Investigators also have pictures of other unknown boys, obviously taken in Toronto. (Local landmarks in backgrounds).

Criminal Code charges have now been laid against Levshin in relation to a 10-year-old Toronto victim he knew. Five different assaults took place in 2003 and 2004 in Toronto and Ukraine.

Vitaly Levshin, 46, years, of Toronto, has been charged with:

(1) Sexual Assault

(2) Sexual Interference

(3) Making Child Pornography

(

4) Possession of Child Pornography.

Levshin has been living in the Toronto area since 2000.

He is originally from Ukraine and is believed to have also lived in or travelled to Russia, Moldova, Israel and the United States.

Levshin was active in the Russian and Ukrainian communities in Toronto. He was employed as a pianist and played various venues in the Toronto area. He placed advertisements in Russian-language newspapers seeking to employ young boys to assist with his piano performances.

He has been detained in custody and his next court appearance is a video remand on Thursday, January 27, 2005, 301 Court, North York.

This investigation was a culmination of good police work, excellent teamwork and communication between the TPS Fugitive Squad, the CBSA, the TPS Sex Crimes Unit, Child Exploitation Section and 32 Division YB.

There is no doubt that without this team effort, and the tenacious pursuit of this fugitive, Vitaly Levshin would have continued to perpetrate his horrific crimes on children, not only in Toronto, but around the world through the distribution of child pornography.

Anyone with information regarding Levshin and his activities is asked to contact Detective Constable John Menard of the Child Exploitation Section at 416-808-7985.

TORONTO (CP) - An Israeli man living in Canada as a landed immigrant has been charged with sexual assault and making child pornography, Toronto police said Tuesday.

Vitaly Levshin, 46, was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, and making and possessing child pornography after being arrested in November. Authorities say the charges relate to a 10-year- old child in Toronto and five assaults in Toronto and Ukraine over the past two years.

Police searched a home in the city's north end and found thousands of images of about 25 boys posing in various states of undress or involved in sex acts with other boys or men.

The pictures showed one Toronto victim being sexually abused from the age of seven until he was 16, Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie said Tuesday at a news conference.

"We watched this boy grow up," he said. "Some of these pictures were, in fact, taken in Toronto, as we can tell from standard Toronto landmarks in the background, such as the CN Tower."

"Our belief is that boys are brought to Canada for the purpose of having sex with men."

Police believe the victims may be living in Canada as well as Israel, Ukraine and Russia.

Officers say chat logs, e-mails and other documents found on a seized computer show the accused was exchanging child pornography with others around the world.

They say the documents also revealed discussions with others about sex with children and how to bring children into Canada from other parts of the world.

Interpol officers in Jerusalem notified Toronto police in October that they had a warrant for the arrest of a man wanted for numerous sexual assaults on children and making child pornography, police said.

Authorities say Levshin arrived in Canada in 2000 and was granted landed immigrant status, but efforts to start extradition proceedings - which had to be initiated by Israeli authorities - were rejected.

Since Israeli authorities were reluctant to extradite Levshin, the matter was referred to the Canada Border Services Agency, police said.

An officer with the agency obtained an immigration arrest warrant for Levshin in November, and police say he was arrested in Toronto the next day.

About 2,000 of the pictures appear to have been taken either by the accused or his international associates, police said.

Police say Levshin - who worked as a pianist and placed ads seeking young boys to assist him in performances - was originally from Ukraine but is believed to have lived in or travelled to Russia, Moldova, Israel and the United States.

Levshin is in police custody and is to appear via video in a Toronto court on Thursday.

Toronto police have arrested a man they allege fled Israel to escape child pornography charges, only to continue his crimes in Canada.

Police say that when 46-year-old Vitaly Levshin came to Canada in 2000, he was granted Landed Immigrant status.

Some four years later, Interpol and Israeli police contacted their Toronto counterparts to say they had tracked Levshin to the Ontario capital.

The Israeli embassy in Ottawa told CTV News that charges were never laid in Israel, because Levshin fled to Canada in the preliminary stages of the investigation. Police there were looking into information related to sexual assaults on children, as well as the online distribution of child pornography.

When Levshin was arrested in November at his north Toronto home, police say they discovered some 3,000 pictures in his possession involving about 25 unidentified boys in various stages of undress or involved in sex acts with other boys and men.

Police also said computer records contain evidence Levshin was exchanging pornography with people around the world.

Levshin was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, and making and possessing child pornography.

Authorities say the charges relate to a 10-year-old child in Toronto and five assaults in Toronto and Ukraine over the past two years.

Police believe that some of the youths in pictures appear to have been brought to Canada solely for the purpose of having sex with men.

According to Toronto Police Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie, a boy known as Pasha, for example, is seen in a series of photos that date back to the time he was seven-years-old until he was 16.

"We watched this boy grow up," Gillespie told reporters at a briefing Tuesday morning. "Some of these pictures were, in fact, taken in Toronto as we can tell by standard Toronto landmarks such as the CN Tower."

Police say, during the time he's lived in the Toronto area, Levshin advertised in local Russian-language papers for young boys to assist with his professional piano performances.

Anyone with information concerning the accused is asked to contact the Toronto Police Service's Child Exploitation Section at 416-808-7985.

Levshin is scheduled to face charges of sexual assault and sexual interference as well as making and possessing child pornography when he appears in a Toronto court on Thursday.

The story behind the alleged porn ring that stretches from Canada to Israel and from Russia to the Ukraine is a tangled web of computers, furtive discussions and bizarre bureaucratic mysteries.

Police both here and in other countries are still trying to sort it all out. But here's what we know so far.

The case seems to have broken in Israel, with an arrest of a man named Shimon Bentov. He's charged with similar offenses to the ones local cops have laid against Toronto newcomer Vitaly Levshin, who they say was an associate of their accused.

When authorities there discovered the extent of Bentov's alleged involvement in child porn, they tried to locate Levshin, only to find he'd already received his papers to stay in Canada.

As the long list of those involved unraveled, new names kept popping up, provided by the emails on the suspects' computers.

Someone named "Anton" is thought to be living in Calgary and may have committed what cops call "a hand's on" crime with the boys. But they have no idea if that's his real name or who he is.

In Russia, three men known only as "Mobius", "Igor" and "Sergei" are being sought. At least one of them runs a child porn site, but all are believed involved in the distribution of the pictures that appear on the site.

They're all linked to at least 22 boys, only a few of who police have able to identify. One of them, Pascha, literally grew up in the lewd photos, and cops know he spent a few summers here, and allege he was abused by Levshin.

The others they've been able to I.D. are called "Pavel", another alleged Toronto victim, and Sascha, said to be Pascha's brother. All are believed to now be living in Moscow and Russian authorities are trying to identify them.

A fourth, "John Doe" is the 10-year-old Toronto boy that police have charged Levshin with abusing.

Police may not know who they all are, but think they've been transported all over the world, with one purpose.

"Our belief is that boys are bring bought to Canada for the purpose of having sex with men," concludes Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie.

But he's not sure exactly how they've been brought into each country - including this one - without anyone detecting what was going on. Gillespie claims the boys apparently reached their destinations with all the proper paperwork, a situation he calls "disturbing".

And he adds one more disgusting detail - boys in Russia are available for only $10, whereas procuring them in Canada costs a lot more.

The massive investigation into unveiling the identities of the victims and the alleged perpetrators continues across the planet.

A North York man faces charges and will make a court appearance tomorrow following an international child exploitation investigation, police announced yesterday.

"This is a very large investigation that has taken place around the world and it is absolutely ongoing," said Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie of the sex crimes unit. "We would like to try to determine if in fact there are other victims."

According to police, Interpol notified the Toronto Police Service's fugitive squad in October that they had an arrest warrant for a man believed to be living in Toronto. The man, an Israeli citizen of Ukrainian descent, was wanted in Israel for numerous alleged sexual assaults on children as well as for allegedly making and distributing child pornography.

Police determined the man came to Canada in 2000 and had been granted landed immigrant status.

Det. Jim Muscat said every effort was made "to encourage the authorities to commence extradition proceedings," but it did not happen.

The child exploitation section of the sex crimes unit and North York's 32 Division conducted a criminal investigation.

On Nov. 30, a suspect was arrested without incident and a search warrant was executed at a home in the Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue area.

Police alleged the suspect had about 3,000 pictures in his possession, including about 2,000 that appear to have been taken by him or his associates. Some pictures allegedly involve about 25 boys either posing in various stages of undress or involved in sex acts with other boys or men.

Several victims have not been identified, but are believed to be living in Canada, Israel, Ukraine and Russia.

Police alleged chat logs, e-mails and documents recovered from a suspect's computer reveal he was exchanging child pornography with men around the world.

A suspect and men allegedly had discussions about having sex with children and discussed how to bring children into Canada.

Gillespie said a thorough examination was done of a computer, but there are still several password-protected files that have not been cracked.

"We're still working on it."

Police said pictures of one victim, known only as Pasha, allegedly show him being sexually abused from age seven to 16.

"Some of these pictures were in fact taken in Toronto as we can tell by standard Toronto landmarks in the background such as the CN Tower," Gillespie told reporters during a news conference at police headquarters yesterday. "It appears to us that this boy was in Toronto as late as 2002. We don't know who he is and we now believe he is living in Russia."

Gillespie said there appears to be a "network" that does not have much difficulty in getting children into Canada. "Our belief is that boys are brought to Canada for the purpose of having sex with men," he said. "This network is managing to facilitate that transportation, get them the appropriate paperwork and get them into Canada."

Police said charges have been laid against a suspect in relation to a 10-year-old he knew.

Police said the accused was employed as a pianist and was active in Toronto's Russian and Ukrainian communities. He placed advertisements in Russian-language newspapers seeking to employ boys to assist with his piano performances.

Vitaly Levshin, 46, has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, making child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Photo caption: Vitaly Levshin, 46, faces charges as part of an international child-exploitation probe.

Police are seeking help in an international child-exploitation investigation that led to charges against an Israeli citizen alleged to have sexually assaulted a 10-year-old Toronto boy.

Investigators believe the man, who has lived in Toronto since 2000, made child pornography using at least two dozen boys.

"We are trying to determine if there are other victims. We believe there are," Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie of the sex crimes unit told a news conference at police headquarters yesterday.

So far the charges against the man relate to one alleged victim.

Following the man's arrest on Nov. 30, police seized a computer and other paraphernalia from his home, Gillespie said.

"Three-thousand pictures were recovered ... many involving young boys in various sex acts," he said.

The material includes graphic sexual photographs of children between the ages of 7 and 15, he said.

"We believe some live in Canada," Gillespie said, adding the man has been active in the Russian and Ukrainian communities in Toronto.

Police allege the man, an Israeli of Ukrainian descent, was exchanging child pornography worldwide. Gillespie said he believes some victims are from Russia and at least one has visited Toronto.

"Chat logs, emails and documents recovered from the accused's computer reveal that he was exchanging child pornography with men all over the world," said Det. Jim Muscat. "The accused and these men had discussions about having sex with children in Canada and elsewhere in the world and discussed how to bring children to Canada from other parts of the world."

Toronto police became involved in the investigation after Israeli authorities charged Shimon Bentov in Israel late last year, alleging he committed sexual assaults on children and child-pornography offences. Authorities in Israel were also seeking the man arrested in Toronto in relation to the same charges.

Toronto police acted on the information immediately, and the man was arrested at his home near Bathurst St. and Steeles Ave. W. on an immigration warrant.

He is now charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, making child pornography and possession of child pornography in relation to the 10-year-old boy.

Police allege the man was also involved in assaults on two boys, possibly brothers, who may live in Moscow.

"Child pornography pictures of one victim, known only as Pasha, show this child being sexually abused beginning at the age of about 7 and continuing until he was about 16," Muscat said.

"Some of these pictures were taken in Toronto ... during the summer months of 2001 and 2002.

Investigators also have pictures of other unknown boys obviously taken in Toronto."

During his time in Toronto, the man has worked as a pianist and played several venues.

"He placed advertisements in Russian-language newspapers seeking to employ young boys to assist with his piano performances," Muscat said.

He has also been employed at Aelita Musical Enterprises and the Martha Hicks School of Ballet, both in Toronto, and Pizzazz 'n Jazz VP Dance Studio in Bolton.

Charged is Vitaly Levshin, 46. He will appear in court again tomorrow via a video hookup.

TORONTO -- An Israeli man living in Canada as a landed immigrant has been charged with sexual assault and making child pornography, Toronto police said yesterday. Vitaly Levshin, 46, was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, and making and possessing child pornography, after being arrested in November.

Authorities say the charges relate to a 10-year-old child in Toronto and five assaults in Toronto and Ukraine over the past two years.

Police searched a home in the city's north end and found thousands of images of about 25 boys posing in various states of undress or involved in sex acts with other boys or men.

The pictures showed one Toronto victim being sexually abused from the age of seven until he was 16, Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie said yesterday at a news conference.

"We watched this boy grow up," he said. "Some of these pictures were, in fact, taken in Toronto, as we can tell from standard Toronto landmarks in the background, such as the CN Tower."

"Our belief is that boys are brought to Canada for the purpose of having sex with men."

Police believe the victims may be living in Canada as well as Israel, Ukraine and Russia.

Officers allege chat logs, e-mails and other documents found on a seized computer show it was used to exchange child pornography around the world.

They say the documents also revealed discussions with others about sex with children and how to bring children into Canada from other parts of the world.

Interpol officers in Jerusalem notified Toronto police in October that they had a warrant for the arrest of a man wanted for numerous sexual assaults on children and making child pornography, police said.

Authorities say Levshin arrived in Canada in 2000 and was granted landed immigrant status, but efforts to start extradition proceedings - which had to be initiated by Israeli authorities - were rejected.

An officer with the Canadian Border Services Agency obtained an immigration arrest warrant for Levshin in November, and police say he was arrested in Toronto the next day. Police allege about 2,000 of the pictures appear to have been taken either by the accused or members of an international porn ring.

Police say Levshin - who worked as a pianist and placed ads seeking young boys to assist him in performances - was originally from Ukraine.

Levshin is in police custody and is to appear via video in a Toronto court tomorrow.

TORONTO -- He once played piano part time at a midtown Toronto ballet school, a quiet Russian-speaking man whose English was shaky and who usually stepped out by himself for a smoke. At other times, he taught children music and enlisted young boys to help him when he performed at parties or events.

But Toronto Police announced yesterday that 46-year-old Ukrainian- born Vitaly Levshin, an Israeli citizen with landed-immigrant status here, has been charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old Toronto boy and making thousands of child-pornography images that he distributed around the world.

And police allege that Mr. Levshin, who worked or taught in at least three Toronto-area music or dance schools, is part of an international child-pornography network that allegedly has procured fake documents and smuggled children from Russia or other countries into Canada with disturbing ease for sex and for graphic photo shoots.

Investigators believe there are other victims in Toronto, elsewhere in Canada, and in other countries.

"I'm going to call this the tip of the iceberg, because it really is," Detective-Sergeant Paul Gillespie of the Toronto Police child- exploitation unit told reporters yesterday.

He contends Mr. Levshin and his associates had frank on-line discussions about smuggling children into Canada, and that police were just starting to pierce what appeared to be a sophisticated network to circumvent Canadian immigration authorities. He speculated the smugglers may have had inside help.

"How do they do it? . . . Does somebody have an in? What's going on? That's what we're looking into."

None of the allegations against Mr. Levshin, who is in custody and will appear before a judge tomorrow by remote-video remand, have been proven in court.

Police identified three places where they said Mr. Levshin worked or had access to children over the four years they believe he has been in Canada: Aelita Musical Enterprises on Arran Crescent near Bayview Avenue and Steeles Avenue West; Martha Hicks Ballet School near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue; and the Pizzazz and Jazz VIP Dance Studio in Bolton.

Ms. Hicks said she hired Mr. Levshin to play piano for girls' ballet classes for about 11Æ2 years, finishing in 2002.

She stressed that he was never alone with any of the students. Police contacted her about him in November, but she was confident he had no contact with young boys at her studio.

His English was weak, she said. "I just found him quiet. He was a very accomplished piano player for ballet class," Ms. Hicks said.

It was Interpol, the international policing organization, that brought Mr. Levshin to the attention of the Toronto Police fugitive squad. Interpol told Toronto investigators last October that he had been charged with a long list of sexual offences against children in Israel, including making and distributing child pornography, and that he may be living in Toronto.

Israeli authorities proved reluctant to call for Mr. Levshin's extradition, for reasons that were not clear yesterday, and police here launched an investigation of their own. They tracked him down to a North York high-rise.

The Canadian Border Services Agency, which has a member on the fugitive squad, issued an immigration warrant for his arrest stemming from the Israeli charges on Nov. 29, and police arrested him at a Vaughan address in the early morning hours of Nov. 30.

They also searched his Toronto apartment, seizing several computers and computer disks.

Investigators contend they found close to 3,000 images of child pornography, Det.-Sgt. Gillespie said. "These pictures involve young boys, typically between about 7 and 15 years of age, in various stages of undress, right through to full sex acts with each other and with adult men," Det.-Sgt. Gillespie said.

Police have identified 25 individual boy victims in the pictures, including the 10-year-old Toronto boy identified as John Doe, who they allege was assaulted in Toronto and in Ukraine over a period of two years.

Other boys -- Mr. Levshin allegedly referred to them with the Russian first names Pavel, Pasha and Sasha -- are shown both in Toronto and in other countries.

Pasha, who was here as recently as 2002, appears to have been victimized over eight years, from age 7 to age 15, Det.-Sgt. Gillespie said.

"We watched this boy grow up," he said. "Some of these pictures were in fact taken in Toronto, as we can tell by standard Toronto landmarks in the background, such as the CN Tower."

Toronto police have arrested a man they allege fled Israel to escape child pornography charges, only to continue his crimes in Canada.

Police say that when 46-year-old Vitaly Levshin came to Canada in 2000, he was granted Landed Immigrant status.

Some four years later, Interpol and Israeli police contacted their Toronto counterparts to say they had tracked Levshin to the Ontario capital.

The Israeli embassy in Ottawa told CTV News that charges were never laid in Israel, because Levshin fled to Canada in the preliminary stages of the investigation. Police there were looking into information related to sexual assaults on children, as well as the online distribution of child pornography.

When Levshin was arrested in November at his north Toronto home, police say they discovered some 3,000 pictures in his possession involving about 25 unidentified boys in various stages of undress or involved in sex acts with other boys and men.

Police also said computer records contain evidence Levshin was exchanging pornography with people around the world.

Levshin was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, and making and possessing child pornography.

Authorities say the charges relate to a 10-year-old child in Toronto and five assaults in Toronto and Ukraine over the past two years.

Police believe that some of the youths in pictures appear to have been brought to Canada solely for the purpose of having sex with men.

According to Toronto Police Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie, a boy known as Pasha, for example, is seen in a series of photos that date back to the time he was seven-years-old until he was 16.

"We watched this boy grow up," Gillespie told reporters at a briefing Tuesday morning. "Some of these pictures were, in fact, taken in Toronto as we can tell by standard Toronto landmarks such as the CN Tower."

Police say, during the time he's lived in the Toronto area, Levshin advertised in local Russian-language papers for young boys to assist with his professional piano performances.

Anyone with information concerning the accused is asked to contact the Toronto Police Service's Child Exploitation Section at 416-808- 7985.

Levshin is scheduled to face charges of sexual assault and sexual interference as well as making and possessing child pornography when he appears in a Toronto court on Thursday.

A 46-year-old Toronto man has pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a minor as well as possessing and making child pornography and has been sentenced to time served in pre-trial custody.

Vitaly Levshin, who was first jailed November 2004, was also sentenced before being freed in Superior Court on Monday to three years' probation, which includes terms forbidding him from being near playgrounds, parks and other sites where children under 18 congregate. Six other charges were withdrawn.

**********************

In October of 2004, Interpol - Jerusalem notified the Toronto Police Service Fugitive Squad that they held a warrant for the arrest of a man now believed to be living in Toronto. The man, identified as Vitaly Levshin, a 46-year-old Israeli Citizen of Ukrainian descent, was wanted in Israel for numerous serious sexual assaults on children, as well as making and distributing child pornography on the Internet dating back to 2000.

The Interpol on Tuesday extradited to police an Israeli citizen who spent the past 18 months in Canada and who is suspected of involvement in a broad pedophilia affair in the country.

According to suspicions, 46-year-old Vitali Libshin from Ashdod, was involved in several sexual assaults of teenage boys and girls.

Libshin was needed for questioning after his name came up during an investigation against Shimon Ben Tuv, a resident of Kiryat Arba who was convicted of a long list of sex crimes he carried out on children between 1998 and 2004. Libshin was linked to several sexual molestation cases across the county.

Ben Tuv was given 16 years in jail and the state has appealed the High Court against the sentence, which it considers light.

Police suspect Libshin work in parallel with Ben Tuv, and the ties between the two are being investigated.

The extradition process began when Israel police requested Canadian authorities to question Libshim, and finally requested the authorities to hand him over through Interpol.

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Survivors ARE Heroes!

The Awareness Center believes ALL survivors of sex crimes should be given yellow ribbons to wear proudly.

Survivors of sexual violence (as adults and/or as a child) are just as deserving of a yellow ribbon as the men and women of our armed forces, who have been held captive as hostages or prisoners of war.

Survivors of sexual violence have been forced to learn how to survive, being held captive not by foreigners, but mostly by their own family members, teachers, camp counselors, coaches babysitters, rabbis, cantors or other trusted authority figures.

For these reasons ALL survivors of sexual violence should be seen as heroes!